Local Chapter of the National Audubon Society in Butler and Preble Counties, Ohio since 1976.

Fernald Preserve Field Trip

On Sunday, January 15th Audubon Miami Valley will be kicking off the New Year with an outstanding field trip and I hope you’ll be able to join us. We’ll be visiting the Fernald Preserve, near Ross, Ohio, just a half-hour drive from Oxford. This 1,050-acre property, managed by the U.S. Department of Energy, is located on the site of a former uranium processing facility that ceased operations in 1989. Comprehensive environmental remediation and ecological restoration of the site was completed in 2006 at a cost of $4.4 billion–one of the largest environmental cleanup operations ever undertaken in U.S. history. The property’s natural features have been restored using native plants and grasses, creating one of the largest man-made wetlands in Ohio. The Preserve features 400 acres of forests, 387 acres of grassland including tallgrass prairie and savanna, and 140 acres of wetland habitat including three lakes. The site’s varied and unique habitats are accessible on a seven-mile network of trails. Over 240 bird species have been observed at Fernald, and over 100 have been documented as nesting there. Information about Fernald is at http://www.lm.doe.gov/fernald/Sites.aspx.
This outing will be led by Gary Stegner and Brian Wulker, expert naturalists who are knowledgeable about this amazing property. We will leave Oxford at 8:00 a.m. from the TJ Maxx parking lot (on Locust Street across from McDonald’s) and return in the afternoon. Pack food if desired and bring binoculars if possible. For more information, or instructions on meeting the trip at the site, send me an e-mail to jmichael@amvohio.org.
Each month between September and June, Audubon Miami Valley sponsors a field trip to a regional site of special interest. All are welcome on AMV field trips. More information is available at https://amvohio.org/events/field-trips/.
I hope to see you on Sunday the 15th! Feel free to redistribute this message to others who might have an interest.